“Deep Down, Just One Single Government” on Sunday, October 14Th, 2007, Then President Hugo Chávez Made a Startling Statement
Francisco Toro, Caracas Chronicles Executive Editor Written Statement to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs For the hearing entitled: “The Venezuela Crisis: Malicious Influence of State and Criminal Actors” on September 13, 2017, 2:00 p.m. “Deep Down, Just One Single Government” On Sunday, October 14th, 2007, then President Hugo Chávez made a startling statement. The president was holding his famous Aló, presidente TV show from Santa Clara, Cuba. Addressing Fidel Castro, who was in attendance, directly, he said, “deep down, yes, we are just one single government. […] Venezuela has two presidents, but we are one single government. We are advancing towards a confederation of republics[…]” On one level Chávez’s statement, almost exactly one decade ago, is an obvious overstatement: Venezuela and Cuba had and continue to have separate legal systems, administrative traditions, political cultures and economic outlooks. But the fact that such a statement could be made by one head of state to another underlines the extraordinary closeness of the Cuban-Venezuelan relationship. What Venezuela and Cuba have is not a mere alliance: it goes much deeper than that. When we think about external influence on Venezuela, we should be clear: though other international players certainly have influence in Venezuela, no other external actor comes close to the Cubans. It’s not even close. Built on the basis of the extraordinary personal fondness between Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro, the relationship has outlived both men to become a kind of ideological fusion. Remarkably, the smaller, weaker, poorer country in the relationship has long played the leading role in this relationship, with Cuban intelligence and Cuban political mentorship guiding much of Venezuelan statecraft, and successive Venezuelan leaders being careful to consult Havana before making policy decisions of any consequence.
[Show full text]